Treatment compositions, such as fabric treatments, typically comprise benefit agents such as silicones, fabric softeners, perfumes and perfume microcapsules. Generally there are tradeoffs associated with using multiple benefit agents in one treatment composition. Such tradeoffs include instability, as well as the loss or reduction of one or more of the benefit agents' benefits. A reduction in one of the benefit agent's levels can improve the performance of another benefit agent, yet the performance of the benefit agent that is being reduced suffers. In an effort to solve this dilemma, industry has turned to polymers. Current polymer systems can improve a treatment composition's stability but such improvement in stability comes with a decrease in silicone effectiveness.
Applicants recognized that the traditional polymer system architecture was the source of the stability and silicone problems. In particular, Applicants recognized that traditional polymer systems did not contribute the overall feel benefit that was desired. Applicants discovered that, for fabric enhancers, in particular low pH fabric enhancers, when coupled with the judicious selection of at least two polymers, one with high cross-linking and one with low cross-linking polymer, the softener active level could be reduced to improve the composition's silicone effectiveness, yet the perceived performance of softener active was surprisingly maintained. While not being bound by theory, Applicants believe that the proper selection of such polymers surprisingly provides an increase in silicone deposition and/or friction reduction which is interpreted by consumers as a softer and more preferred feel.